healthcare personnel, and that the IgG food antibody test is being used to diagnose food intolerance in the absence of stringent scientific evidence. We recommend that further research into the relevance of IgG antibodies in food intolerance together with and the necessary controlled clinical trials should be conducted. Although my task was to direct our activity to issues relevant to allergy as occurs in the United Kingdom, nevertheless, it is remarkable how closely our recommendations from the House of Lords Report that I chaired resonate with those of the Allergy White Book. Following the presentation of our Report to the UK Government, I was asked to establish an Implementation Group by the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Pathologists (http:// bookshop.rcplondon.ac.uk/details.aspx?e=317). I would like to suggest that following the launch of the Allergy White Book by the WAO, implementation groups are established in each country and by the WAO as a whole to monitor uptake of the recommendations and their impact, to improve practice for the benefit of patients with allergy. I wish to use this opportunity to congratulate the WAO for initiating this timely Report, all those who have contributed to its content and especially those in different countries whose allergy societies have contributed their own experiences. I wish you every success in its impact and uptake. Baroness Ilora Finlay House of Lords Westminster London, UK WAO White Book on Allergy 5 Copyright 2011 World Allergy Organization Authors Dermot Ryan: General Practitioner, Woodbrook Medical Center, Loughborough, LE11 1NH, UK. Osman Yusuf: Director (Research) IPCRG; Chief Consultant, The Allergy & Asthma Institute, Pakistan. Marianne Stubbe Ostergaard: Associate Professor of. General Practice, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3; DK-2200 N, Copenhagen, Denmark Miguel Román-Rodríguez: President IPCRG: Son Pisa Primary Care Centre. IB-Salut Family Medicine Training Unit, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain About the International Primary Care Respiratory Group (www.theipcrg.org) The IPCRG provides a forum for its constituent national groups encompassing different health systems models and socioeconomic status ranging from those that have a complete health care system to those where the state plays little part in the provision of health care. It represents international primary care perspectives in respiratory medicine trying to raise standards of care in individual countries and globally, through collaborative research, innovation and dissemination of best practice and education. It co-publishes with the UK Primary Care Respiratory Society (PCRS) the Primary Care Respiratory Journal http://www.thepcrj.org/, a free online, Medline listed journal. The IPCRG is an associate member of WAO with which organization it has many areas of overlap given the allergic etiology of many common respiratory disorders. The primary care perspective on respiratory allergies Introduction Although there are differences among countries, the incidence and prevalence of asthma and rhinitis is increasing worldwide. These differences in some countries could be due to underreporting or a lack of awareness of these diseases in deference to more important socioeconomic medical problems. However, in general, patients with asthma are inadequately managed and asthma and rhinitis are both under-recognized1 for their impact on the health and decreased quality of life of those afflicted. In addition, studies to assess prevalence and care delivery show that there is a large variation among countries in the delivery of care to those suffering from asthma and allergy2 . What is common among several countries, however, is that the majority of patients who seek medical advice for allergy and asthma are seen initially in primary care3 because there are inadequate numbers of trained allergists to meet the needs of so many patients4 . The most common reasons for presentation to primary care are respiratory symptoms, encompassing both acute infections and long-term conditions such as asthma, rhinitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Asthma and asthma attacks are often triggered by allergies. It is, therefore,